Internal-combustion engine.



'11. R. RICARDO. I y INTERNAL GOMBUSTION. fllmN-E.

Patented May 21, 1912.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.11, 191`0.

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H. P.. RICARDO. INTERNAL GOMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, 1910.

Patented May 21, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

/VV/W'R @www B/wm- WHA/.5.55.55 M. Q @A -uisiriin STATES 'PATENT HARRY 'RALPH RICARDO, 0F LONDON, ENGLAND.

INTERNAL-connusrion ENGINE.

Specification ofLet'ters Patent. Applicationaiea November 11, i910. Vserial No. 591,810. Y

Patented May 2 1, '1912.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

y Be it known that I, HARRYJRALPH R1- cARDo, subject of the King of England, reat London, in England; have in- :vented certain new 'and useful Improvements-in or -Relating to Internal-Combus- 'tion Engines specification. r

Thisinventionrelates to internal combus-` tioiien'gines and-:has for its object to produce an engine ofsimple and light const-ruction capable of normally running at high navigation.

speed and-more especially suitable for aerial According which works on the two-stroke cycle has .a series of working cylinders disposed radially about a xed crank axle a series lof pump cylinders bein similarly disposed beside the working cy inders and all rotating about the crankv axle. A cent-ral box casing carried on bearingsl constitutes a, crank chamber and has peripheral apertures into 'which are secured the working and pump cylinders, the cylinders being preferably held in place and the principal strain taken .suitable dimensions and material. ably one of these rin s encircles the set of by one `or more shrouding rings formed of working cylinders W ile another ring encircles theset of pump cylinders. rings bear on the outer ends of the cylinders with set-screws or in some other manner permitting of adjustment and conveniently-the' head of each cylinder carries a spring-controlledyinlet valve the head of the cylinder being kept in place by theshrouding ring so A that on removal of this ring'the head of the nate and each` pump cylinder is connected tov The connection b e- 'ISO tween `each working cylinder and its pump- 'cylinder can be lifted off and-the valve inspected'while'the cylinder `itselfcan then be haust ports are made at suitable points in the walls of the Acylinders the exhaust taking place directly into the-air.

rEhe working and pump cylinders are pref-- erably arranged so that whilelying with theirv axes in separate planes the cylinders altera working cylinder.

comprises a pipe rlgidly connectedjto both the head of the working cylinder and -afcap covering an orifcein the head ofthe pump cylinder. Thus detachable connect-ions are oflwhich the .following is a` to this invention the engine- Prefer- These I through rings the head of a yworking cylinder with its inlet valve, the capv on the `head ofy its pumpcylinder and the connecting pipe `are all removed as one piece. y v

The pump cylinders may be valveless the supply of fuel being drawn through. an opening in the head ofthe pump cylinder which communicates lbya passage convenf iently formed in the wall of the cylinder. l

This passage terminates in a port formed in aplate constituting one endof the crank Against the outer falce of this,

chamber. plate bears a fixed disk or plate also ported and disposed. in a supply chamberl` vAs the Aengine rotates the sup ly ports are1succevs-- sively uncovered and uel sucked from `the common supply chamber into the pumpc'y'lfinder and thence when the supply port' is closed bythe rotation of the engine the'` charge is forced through the inlet'valve into thev Working cylinder.

The fuel supply passages are so arranged that after the shrouding rings have-been removed the heady of theg'pu'inp cylinder may be lifted of and the cylinder itselfreadily detachedjrom the. crank casing.. v

Other methods of controlling the supply of fuel may be employed either of the rotary disk valve or other types. As an example a controlling valve maybe disposed inthe head of each pump cylinder anarran ement 'avoided and by removing the shrouding such as the following being employe The head of each cylinder is formedhollow'with an opening to which is connected the inlet pipe andon the inside a. series ofports preferably disposed in a circle.A These p'ortsare covered by a diskor fiat annulus which at .Y .y i

the lsuction stroke of the pump is' lifted against a `spring conveniently. of the leaf type. The head of the cylinder is provided with a central openin closed by a cap which togetherwith t e whole head of the ca cylinder is held inplace by the shrouding y ring bearingl on the cap. The fuel' drawn in the hollow head of the cylinder and past Vthe iat valve is expelled through the central 'orifice and cap to the working. cylinder. f This construction may be modified in various ways as for instance in the construction of the head of the cylinder and inlet ports together with the valve.

Lubrication is maintainedv by a supply forced through passages formed 11i the fixed crank tothe main bearingswhence lubricant finds its ,way by centrifugal :forceA to the gudgeon pins and pistons.

Any convenient known system of ignition may be used, some electric -system being preferable with a suitable arrangement of contacts.

As the shrouding rings `can be Vsim-ply and lightly constructed of material amply strong enough to withstand the strain throwny on them and as the'construction allows of the; main strains being referred' to the shrouding rings it is possible to lighten the structure of the cylinders andthe crank casing since no very strong method of connection is necessary between these parts. Further ready l accessibility of the parts of the engine is gained with avoidance of studs, nuts, bolts, set-screws and the like. l

There is preferably one main connecting rod to pins on the big end of which are coupled lighter connect-ing rods from the pistons of the other cylinders. 'lhere is thus a single main crank pin for each set of cylinders.

The crank casing is preferably carried on ball bearings the fixed crankf axle passing through one end of the casing and a stud axle being mounted on the opposite end of the crank casing.

It is to be noted that it is possible to employ comparatively light springs to control the inlet valves of the working cylinders owing to the action of centrifugal force aiding the closing of these valves. This force is thus taken advantage ofto assist in the operation of the valves and to enable the construction of the engine to be lightened by throwing the strains on to simple members namely the shrouding rings which can easily be constructed of' material particularly suitable for the purpose.

The cycle on which the engine works comprises the indrawing of a charge into the pump cylinder and its delivery into the working .cylinder just afterV exhaust has taken place the charge being then compressed and fired and subsequently exhausted through the ports in the wall of the cylinder.

Suitable radiation ribs are preferably provided on the working cylinders and it is desirable in some cases to fit, sheet metal scoops or collectors which will as the engine rotates produce a How of air over theheads of the working cylinders, this air being directed to flow around the cylinders and away ink a lmanner so as to/carry off tle exhaust.

It will-be understood that though a separate shrouding ring is preferablyy employed for each set of cylinders one ring may be used in common between them the structure being however preferably as light as possible consistent with the necessary strength.

In the laccompanying drawingsFigure lyis an elevation with parts in section, show-4 ing one construction of internal combustion engine according to this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section, showing the crank chamber and pump cylindersin section and the working cylinders in elevation. Fig. 3 yis a diagram similar vto. a developed plan, showing the connection between a working cylinder and its pump cylinder. Fig. 4.-, is a section on the line t-l of Fig. 2, showin in 'elevation the disk valve controlling the. fuel supply, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view, showing the head of a pump cylinder of modified construction and provided with a valve.

lVithreference first to Figs.` l and 2, A is a fixed hollow crank shaft supporting on ball-bearings A1 one end of a'rotatable crank chamber B. .'The other end of this crank chamber is furnished with a projectingA hollow portion B1 forming a stud-axle supported'by ball-bearings C1, C2 in a fixed member C which formspart of the stationary girder or frame D. A similar girder or frame. D1 forms the support lfor the stationary crank shaft A. Set AvaroundV the crank chamber B are six working cylinders E each having a piston F and radiator fins G. These working cylinders E fit into openings made to receive them in the crank chamber B and are provided with collars or shoulders E1 fitting on to corresponding flanged portions of the crank chamber. As preferred and shown in the drawing the cylinders are simply fitted into the openings, but it will be understood that some screw or other engagement may be provided to assist in keeping them in place. Thatever this arrangement may be, the cylinders are held in position mainly, or in some in-v stances entirely, by a shrouding ring H havingset-screws H1 which can be screwed down on tocaps J which bear upon the cylinder heads E2. These cylinder heads contain inlet valves E3 controlled by 'springs Efand, as the heads are kept in position solely by the shrouding ring, they can be at once removed and the valve inspected when the ring is taken off. Exhaust ports E5 are provided in the cylinder walls. As shown in Fig; l, the piston of one cylinderthat shown in section-is provided with a connecting rod F1.. The big end of this rod is connected to the crank shaft A by appropriate bearings, and on the big end are pins F2 serving as points of connection for the connecting rods F3 of the other five pistons. -Pump cylinders K are also set around the crank chamber B, the method of their fitting, as shown in Fig. 2, being similar to that described with reference to the working cylinders. The pump cylinders K are held mainly or entirely in position against `the crank chamber by means of a shrouding ring H2 having set-sc rews H3. These screws bear upon caps K1 placed centrally upon theV cylinder heads K3. The pump pistons K3 are connected to the crank shaft A by means of connecting rods` K3 Aand pins i K3, the

arrangement being similar to that employed u for the working cylinders. As will be seen end Wall of the crank chamber B. This plate is shown in elevation in Fig. 4 and it is provided with holes L-2 leading through corresponding holes in the end wall of the crank chamber B to cored passages B2 in the crank chamber. These passages lead to other passages B3 which may be formed in the walls of the pump cylinders K and lead into the upper ends of those cylinders. The plate L1 coperates with va fixed plate M shaped as shown in Fig. 4 and kept pressed against the plate L1 by means of springs M1 which are mounted on guide 'pins M2. As shown in Fig. 4, the arrangement is such that, as the valve plate L1. rotates, the holes L2 come from under the plate M and are uncovered, allowing fuel to be1suckedy through them and through the passages B3 B3 into the pump cylinders where suction is being produced by the downward movement of the piston. As shown in Fig. 4, three holes are uncovered and the other three are covered, these covered holes belonging to the pump cylinders where the pistons on their upward strokes are drivingthe charges into the working cylinders.

The connectlon between each Working cylinder and its pump cylinder is by means of a pipe N (see Fig. 3) connecting thecaps J and K1. The two caps and the connecting pipe N may be so arranged that they can be removed bodily when jthe shrouding rings H and H2 are taken off. The working cylinders are intended to operate on the twostroke cycle, the incoming charge -from the pump cylinders driving out the products of' combustion at the exhaust ports E1 when the working piston F has descended.

Any convenient'method of ignition may `be employed. An electric ignition is suitable but is not illustrated as the details of construction form no part of the present invention. f 'u A Iny the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2,the pump cylinders are' valveless, the supply of fuel being controlledin the manner described by the disk valve kL1, M, but this y 'spring K9.

a central supporti K10 and -tends tocausethe disk valve may be dispensed with and inlet valves provided in the heads of the pump cylinders. One such construction is shown in Fig. 5 where the head .K3 of the pump cylinder K is provided with inlet ports K7 controlled by an annular' valve K3 andV This springy Kis mounted on valveK8v to keep. lthe openings K7 closed.

4Under the action of the suction, thev valve uncovers the holes andthe charge 4is drawn in through hollow spacesK11 in the head. These spaces communicate with the pipe B3 leading to the fuel supply chamber. In this construction the outltfor the charge is, as shown in Fig.v5,.through a central opening in the head to the cap K1 and thence as before. through the pipe N to the working cylinder.

As shown' in the drawing one endv of the crank is' unsupported,but 1t will be understood that the construction may be modified so that a bearing is provided for it in the hollow stud B1, thus stiffening the crank and keeping it in alinement.

The lubrication is maintained by a supply forced through pipes P which pass through the crank shaft and lead out to-themain bearings of the connecting rods. From' thence the lubricant finds its way by cen-l ltrifugal force to the gudgeon pins and the l pistons F and K3..

The invention plied to an engine of the type in which the crank chamber and cylinders rotate relatively to a fixed crank shaft but, obviously, the construction may be so modified without departing from the spirit of the invention that the crank shaft would rotate, the crank vchamber' and cylinders either remaining stationary or rotating in the opposite direction. What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a 'crank chamber having a plurality of peripheral apertures, a crank has been described as ap-i' shaft Within said chamber, a plurality of Y cylinders set into said apertures and having collars bearing upon the chamber, pistons within said cylinders, operative connections between the pistons and crank shaft, a shrouding ring surrounding the cylinders, and adjustable means between the outer ends of the cylinders and the shrouding ring for detachably holding the cylinders to the:

crank chamber. u

-2. In an internal combustlon engine the combination of a crank chamber, a crankv shaft `within such chamber, a plurality 'of' Working cylinders mounted upon the crank chamber, a plurality of pump cylinders'also mounted upon the crank chamber, pistons within the Working and the pump cylinders, operative connections between the. pistons and the crank shaft, removable heads to the lao Working cylinders and to thep'ump cylinders, conduits connecting the heads of the working and pumpl -cylinders and shrouding rings surrounding each.set of cylinders and acting to hold them in position.

V3. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a crank chamber, a crank shaft within such chamber, a plurality of working cylinders mounted upon the crank chamber, a plurality of pump cylinders also mounted upon the crank. chamber, pistons within the working and pump cylinders, operative connections between' the pistons and the crank shaft, removable heads to the Working cylinders, valves within such removable heads, removable heads to the pump-cylinders each having inlet ports disi shrouding rings acting to hold the working cylinders and the pump cylinders in position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY RALPH RICARDO.

' Witnesses:

' B. E. DUNBAR KILBURN, ABCHBAID J. FRENCH. 

